What is SAP landscape management? It is the control and automation of complex SAP landscapes, including aspects such as landscape virtualization management, which focuses on optimizing the deployment and management of virtualized SAP environments. It is also the name of an SAP solution for that job.
SAP LaMa is not the only tool that can help. Like many strong SAP products, it can take time to learn. You may need an intro project and help from several SAP Basis engineers. That is fine for hard jobs. But not every SAP operations task is hard.
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Why is SAP Landscape Management difficult?
Some SAP landscape management jobs are hard, especially at scale with SAP S/4HANA and other SAP systems. System copy work is one example. It can take hundreds of steps. A tool for SAP system copy automation or post-copy work may be complex too, particularly when considering the additional layer of landscape virtualization management.
SAP Landscape Management Tasks
There are also many SAP operations tasks that are much easier to automate. They happen often, so the gains can be large. Common jobs include:
- starting and stopping SAP systems or full SAP landscapes while another team updates Red Hat Linux, which is essential for landscape virtualization management
- upgrading and patching SAP system or SAP HANA kernels
- checking and applying SAP Notes
These tasks can be dull and time-consuming. But they are not hard to automate. SAP operations automation pays off at scale. It also needs a tool that is simple to run. Otherwise, the cost of the tool can cancel out the gains.
SAP Landscape Management for MSPs
Managed Service Providers face one more issue: multi-tenancy. Any platform for SAP landscape automation at scale, along with landscape virtualization management, must support it. MSPs need this to keep each customer safe and separate. It also avoids the cost of running many isolated tools.
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What about Cloud and VMware?
Digital change is moving many SAP landscapes to the cloud. That includes AWS, GCP, and Microsoft Azure. But many SAP apps still run on-premises. Most SAP customers also use some form of SAP landscape VM setup, often on VMware. That is the hybrid reality most companies live in now.
This matters for SAP landscape management. It matters for SAP systems and non-SAP systems alike. For example, if you stop dev SAP systems after work hours to save cloud spend, you must also stop the cloud server or VM that hosts them. That step should be part of the same automation flow.
Are there SAP Landscape Management alternatives?
Yes. Avantra is an industry-leading AIOps for SAP platform that supports SAP operations automation. It gives SAP operations teams insight and cuts routine work. It can spot issues across the whole SAP landscape before they turn into trouble. That makes it a strong fit for many large firms and managed service providers. For Basis teams, it acts like a steady guard for even complex SAP landscapes.
We also believe no tool should be harder than the job it solves. We used this idea in SAP system monitoring years ago. SAP customers should not need the weight of SAP Solution Manager just to do simple tasks like system monitoring. That monitoring data can then feed the next step in your automated workflow.
Avantra was built for MSPs from day one. That came from the business we started 20 years ago. So access, services, and functions are split by customer. You can also scale automation across many customers without hurting security. That makes Avantra a strong fit for SAP landscape management, especially for MSPs.
Getting started with SAP Landscape Management
First, ask a simple question: are you an MSP that serves SAP customers? If yes, SAP LaMa may not be the best place to start. In talks with MSPs, this product rarely comes up. A multi-tenant tool that supports you and your customers with SAP landscape VM control and management is often a better fit. Keep multi-tenancy in mind when you compare options.
The next lesson is simple: use the right tool for the job. You would not use a sledgehammer to drive a nail. When people buy software, they often want one tool for everything. That can work for rare, hard jobs. It is not always the best choice for SAP applications or other SAP solutions.
Automate SAP Landscape Management
Automation is the key to SAP landscape management. It should grow step by step. Start with the simple, dull jobs. For example, let dev teams start and stop their own SAP systems without pulling in SAP Basis staff.
If you are an MSP, you can also let customers do this in a safe way. That only works if the tool is simple and smart. If the wrong person gets the wrong tool, the risk is high.
The next step may be kernel upgrades for production SAP systems or SAP HANA databases. It is better if you can prepare once, run a pre-check, and then let the work happen at night or over the weekend. SAP operations automation should not tie up scarce Basis staff.
Then you can move to the next step, and the next. Over time, your automation journey grows with you. Pick a vendor that can grow too. Stay up to date with new industry trends and SAP best practices. Subscribe to Avantra’s blog, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.
FAQs
What is the difference between SAP landscape management as a concept and SAP LaMa as a product?
SAP landscape management is the broad idea of controlling and automating complex SAP environments. SAP LaMa is one SAP product for that job. The article says it is not the only choice, and it may be more complex than many routine tasks need.
Which SAP landscape management tasks are good candidates for early automation?
Start with tasks that are simple but common. Good examples are starting and stopping SAP systems, support for operating system windows, kernel updates, and checking or applying SAP Notes. These tasks pay off because they happen often and do not need very deep automation.
Why is multi-tenancy especially important for Managed Service Providers?
Multi-tenancy lets MSPs run SAP landscape automation for many customers while keeping each one separate. That protects security and integrity. It also avoids the need to build and run a separate isolated tool for each customer.
How do cloud platforms and VMware fit into SAP landscape management?
Many SAP landscapes are now hybrid. They use AWS, GCP, Microsoft Azure, VMware, and on-premises systems. Good SAP landscape management must include those layers. That way, SAP actions and VM or server actions stay in sync.
What approach does the article recommend for building an SAP automation strategy?
Treat automation as a step-by-step path. Start with simple work that saves time for SAP Basis teams. Then move to harder jobs like automated kernel upgrades with pre-checks. Choose a tool that is easy to use now and can scale later.